The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and South Korea have agreed to field a joint hockey team at the Winter Olympics next month. And they will march under the same flag at the opening ceremony. The two sides will meet with Olympic officials in Switzerland this weekend to finalize the details. CGTN's Nathan King has this report.

The two Koreas marching together at the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000- under the so-called "unification flag"- representing all of Korea -- not divided along the 38th parallel. In fact, Pyongyang and Seoul have marched together nine times like this before but the tenth time will be special.

CHUN HAE-SUNG SOUTH KOREAN UNIFICATION MINISTRY "The South and North will jointly march in the opening ceremony with the Korean Peninsula flag and form a unitary South-North female ice hockey team."

The joint women's hockey team will mean the two Koreas competing as one for the first time in an Olympic event- details have to be worked out with the International Olympic Committee this weekend in Switzerland but Olympic officials have indicated they are keen to include DPRK athletes. The DPRK is also set to send skaters, a cheerleading squad, a symphony orchestra as well as yet unnamed officials.

Not everyone is happy. Japan's foreign minister is warning the world not to be taken in by what he calls Pyongyang's "charm offensive." And apart from the Olympics, the two Koreas still have sharp differences over the prospect of family reunions across their border. The DPRK is calling for a full halt to US-ROK military exercises, not just the announced pause for the Olympics, and there is no sign yet of any talks over the north's nuclear and ballistic missile program. The United States says it's time for the DPRK to act.

SARAH SANDERS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY "We see this as an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearization. We still are very much focused and hope that it happens."

The US claims that it is its hardline policy against Pyongyang that has led to this thaw on the Korean Peninsula but it has been a largely Korean process- DPRK leader Kim Jong Un's New Year's speech helped paved the way for talks that President Moon Jae-in first proposed last summer.

NATHAN KING WASHINGTON DC "So the big question now, Will the warmth generated by this announcement translate into talks about other things apart from the Olympics when those games are over? There's no guarantee but this is a very good start indeed. Nathan King, CGTN at the White House Washington DC."